Nepal – Norway

Diplomatic relations

Nepal and Norway established diplomatic relations on January 26, 1973. Ever since the establishment of diplomatic relations, Nepal and Norway have been enjoying friendly and cordial relations. Norway opened its residential embassy in Kathmandu on January 12, 2000. Nepal does not have a residential embassy in Norway. The Nepalese Ambassador in Copenhagen is concurrently accredited to Norway. Prior to the establishment of Nepalese Embassy in Copenhagen, Nepalese Ambassador to the United Kingdom was concurrently accredited to Norway. Similarly, the Nepalese Honorary Consul General based in Oslo looks after the Nepalese interest in Norway.

Exchange of Visits

A Nepalese parliamentary delegation led by the then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Daman Nath Dhungana, paid an official visit to Norway in November 1993. A delegation of Nepal’s women parliamentarians visited Norway in 1997.

The then Minister for Foreign Affairs Chakra Prasad Bastola paid an official visit to Norway at the invitation of the Norwegian Foreign Minister from 7 to 9 September 2000.The then Rt. Hon. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ paid an official visit to Norway on March 29-31, 2009.

From Norway, Ms. Hilde F. Johnson, Minister of International Development and Human Rights visited Nepal on November 11-14, 1999. Foreign Minister Mr. Knut Vollebaek paid an official visit to Nepal from January 11-13, 2000.

Development Minister Mr. Erik Solheim visited Nepal from 7 to 8 March 2007. Earlier he had visited Nepal on May 2-5, 2006. In capacity of Minister for Environment and Development, he again visited Nepal from 30 to 31 January 2012.

Minister for International Development Mr. Heikki Holmas visited Nepal on 4-5 June 2012.

Cooperation

Norway has been assisting Nepal in its development efforts for quite sometime now. Government-to-government development cooperation commenced with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in 1996. In accordance with Nepal’s own priorities, Norway had chosen to concentrate its assistance on basic and primary education, hydropower and energy, human rights, decentralisation and peace support through UN agencies, good governance and private sector development (with focus on hydropower and electrification). Besides government-to-government cooperation, Norway has channelled its assistance through multilateral agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations. Nepal has been receiving assistance from regional and global funds, including support for the private sector, non-governmental and multilateral organisations, and technical assistance in specific areas.

The Government of Norway has provided NOK 30.6 million for Nepal Peace Trust Fund.

Norway annually offers NORAD fellowships to Government of Nepal in different fields of study aiming at human resources development of Nepal.

After the restoration of democracy in the country, Norway reversed the decision taken in July 2005 to reduce its support to Nepal by 10%. It continued the support to rural electrification through the ESAP programme and activities to share Norwegian experiences for peace processes was continued. It also granted aid to the National Election Observation Committee jointly with Denmark and Canada.

Trade/ Investment

The following table shows the status of Nepal’s trade with Norway during the last few years:

Import (Rs.)

(Jan to Dec 2017)

Export (Rs.)

(Jan to Dec 2017)

Import

(Jan-Dec 2018)

Export

(Jan-Dec 2018)

Norway

139,081,883

191,318,770

211,732,675

178,151,040

(Source: TEPC, Nepal)

An agreement on the avoidance of double taxation with Norway has been signed.

Tourism

Tourist arrival in Nepal from Norway during the last few years is as follows:

YearNumber

2018 (January to December) 3,654
Bhutanese Refugees

Norway is one of the seven Core Group countries taking the initiative on the third country resettlement of Bhutanese refugees. A number of Bhutanese refugees have been resettled there. The process of third country resettlement of the Bhutanese refugees is expected to continue for some years to come.